Lots of the affection I have to Star Wars is nostalgia, and yes, I do feel that episodes 4 through 6 were better than 1 through 3. I think that the Prequels made a few serious missteps. For instance "The Force" is a cool, amorphous, semi-magical concept. Midichlorians are BS pseudo-scifi that in an instant stripped the Jedi and the Sith of 90% of their mistique. Now they're not these Chosen Ones battling eternally to inadvertantly keep a balance between the pure concepts of Good and Evil. Now they're two support groups for the Galaxy's most awesome STD that don't get along well. That said, if we can get past the Prequels' missteps, the basic STORY behind them isn't that bad. I think that the Prequels get a lot of heat that they don't deserve just because they didn't live up to the original trilogy, and the worst thing you can do to someone is not live up to their expectations.
ALSO, Episodes 4 through 6 weren't that great. They were rife with cliche', they were the kind of fantasy that 6 year olds could come up with, and they were very simple and straight forward. "I am your Father" and the good guys losing out in Empire Strikes Back were the series' high points, and everything else just kinda moved forward in standard action movie format. Basically, it was "Space Knights with Laser Swords, Pew pew pew!" That's not a BAD thing, but it's not this Holy Cannon of Science Fantasy that we, including me, like to think of it as.
Now, Disney has acquired the rights to make Star Wars. This SOUNDS bad, and on a wavelength that considers movie monopolies and megacorporations and all the geopolitical ramifications of all that, yes, that's a bad thing. But when Disney makes things, 9 times out of 10 they range from good to very good, with scattered Greats or Averages out there. I've never seen anything Disney made that I'd actually say was "BAD." No, I have not seen The Lone Ranger, but all the complaints I hear about that are more about Johnny Depp as Tonto (Get over it already. If we're all Equal, why can't a white man ACT a role without being called a hate crime?) than about the movie itself.
So in summation, I believe that the quality of these new Star Wars movies will range somewhere from the high point of the Prequel Trilogy (Battle choreography and that third one, I forget its name, Sith Go Wild, or whatever) to slightly below Empire Strikes Back. And I admit that if they pull some sweet story twists or unexpected reveals they might even exceed the QUALITY of the original trilogy. But I doubt that it will trump the memories of when we all saw the originals in our younger days.
Note worth mentioning: NOTHING in Star Wars will EVER trump the Darth Revan moment. "I am your father" can go sit in a corner after that, yeah?